


bright and verdant growth

by complicatedly



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Campaign: Balance (The Adventure Zone), Enthrallment, Gaia Sash (The Adventure Zone), Gen, Pre-Canon, References to Canonical Het Marriage, The Relic Wars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 10:54:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27469852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/complicatedly/pseuds/complicatedly
Summary: The funny thing is, Merle doesn't actuallyremembermarrying Hekuba.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 13





	bright and verdant growth

Merle very nearly hadn’t married Hekuba; had, in fact, come very close to cutting and running before the ceremony. He never cared for all that preservation of bloodlines bullshit, and he knew from the start that it’d be a disaster, though he hadn’t realized that even that would be underselling it. 

But in the end, family was still family, and so he bowed to the weight of familial bonds and expectation.

A part of Merle wonders what things would’ve been like if he hadn’t married Hekuba. Not like, in a deep philosophical musing sense—Merle doesn’t do that regret shit—but more like… vague curiosity. He always wanted to see the world beyond the beach.

Well, he was seeing it now.

Though, to be honest, he hadn’t really… planned on leaving. Hadn’t brought anything with him but the clothes on his back: even his grandpa’s warhammer was left hanging on the wall back home. That’s the thing about breaking points: you don’t always see them coming. He only meant for a short walk, a breath of fresh air to clear his head after yet another argument—and then he just didn’t stop walking.

That was days ago now. He whistles as he walks, his heavily booted feet clomping through the long grasses of the valley, and carefully doesn’t think about the kid he left behind, sleeping in her cradle. Doesn’t think about how he left without taking one last look at her.

Merle doesn’t do regret.

Then:

From the corner of his eye, he glimpses something—something which he at first mistakens for a coil of old, weather-beaten rope. Nothing special, really. Just another pile of trash left behind by some adventurer along their way. 

For some reason, he finds himself moving take a closer look. 

The ground grows muddier beneath his feet: almost swamp-like, as he approaches. The sun’s shining in his eyes. As he wipes the sweat from his forehead, he realizes that it’s not rope, but rather something to be worn—a belt, or sash, or something like that. 

And it’s talking to him. 

_Merle_ , it whispers, sounding almost delighted. _Oh, Merle. I’m so glad you’ve found me_. And as it does, it sends images racing through his mind: of forests growing beneath his touch, newborn to ancient in mere moments; rain soaking into parched earth, forcing it into bloom; of covering the world in floral, verdant, thriving growth—feeding the starving, making peace, making beauty, making the world _better_.

It’s everything he never realized he wanted before this moment. And though a part of him wants to be suspicious—it’s a talking magical object sitting in a meadow, he’s not dumb, he _knows_ there’s something wrong with this—the onslaught of images washes those thoughts and feelings away until all he can know is yearning for what it offers. 

_Think of the things we can do together_ , the sash croons. _It’s like I was made to be yours—don’t you agree?_

It’s the easiest decision he’s ever made in his life. 

Merle stretches out his hand and takes it.

* * *

(Some weeks later, Merle Highchurch wakes up on his own doorstep, dazed and bleary. Even the walls of his own home feel strange around him, and as Hekuba scolds him with enough force to make his ears burn, he thinks, _wow, that must’ve been some party._

Many miles away, a dwarf skeleton lies forgotten in a heavily forested glen, bright and poisonous flowers blooming from between the bones of its ribcage.)

**Author's Note:**

> I was going through some of my drafts today, and stumbled upon this ficlet that I'd written back in August and had, quite frankly, completely forgotten about. It turns out that I liked it much more now than I did then, so I decided to post it!
> 
> I originally wrote this in the aftermath of finishing a TAZ Balance relisten; it was inspired by the concept of Merle's clan existing in both worlds, and specifically by the idea, _what if there'd also been another Merle?_ It's not a canon-compliant idea, for a number of reasons, but still one that I found fun to explore.


End file.
